Eventide Eclipse

To answer the last post, the 'sound' of the unit is top notch, but after having this unit for a while, I found myself using my other top notch unit more, the TC ELECTRONIC G FORCE. To excuse a units programmability just because it sounds good is, well, inexcusable. A musician plays, a studio guy tweeks. I'd rather (and I'm sure most others) spend more time playing than tweeking, let the studio guys look endlessly for that special mix.

The Eventide Eclipise, like Lexicon products, is a hard animal to get around, and does involve a lot of time to 'dial it all in'. Many many windows and odd ways to get what you need to where you need to then edit properly to your liking gets tiresome after a while, especially when you don't really know what you want and are just trying things out. It is better to have sounds you can just drop in and go than having to go through multiple windows to try to put something together. If you are a musician from the late 80's as I, you remember why guitarist suddenly dropped the rack gear and went back to the old school, it's because things got too complicated and involved with these things, and too much other nonsense (as the other guy stated) sounds that really have no use at all, unless you are making noises for video games.

What musicians really want: Many pre-programmed presents that are ready to go in the REAL world of playing. It could be 10 chorus patches all the same but subtle differences, who cares? That is something you can use, not 10 patches of pitch shifting with a jet flange so extreme you'd think you were tracking for an airlines commercial or a ping pong whacko delay from hell...why? Nice to know the unit could do that, but what is the need?

I used the G FORCE as a comparison because it is also top notch in effects but also has a very simple user interface that makes sense and is quick to navigate with smart layouts you can run to quickly. No 'stealing' things from other algorythems, the effects are right there on the front panel, add as you need, then go.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a beat up post for Eventide, I love the sounds, but like I said earlier, I usually go to the other solely because of the ease of use.

Assume the user knows nothing. What are absolute minimum of parameters that need to be adjusted? Let's look at pedals. The most popular have 1 - 4 controls, the rest the unit does. Look at things like the Roland Dimension C, a huge unit, 4 buttons. But christ, what a sound! No bad choices, just perfection with different saturations.

This is all from a guitarist perspective, so you know, take it from that aspect, but who knows, maybe in the future Eventide will make a watered down version of the eclipse in a full rack that deals solely with just quick access to preprogrammed sounds with minimal adjustments as necessary, sorta like the diff between the G Force and the G Major.

The switching between present lag is the biggest issue for all guitarists, this usually is because when the unit has to make too drastic a change between paramenters, the processor is in overdrive to catch up, resulting in a minor lag. No big deal in the studio, a HUGE deal live. I recommend to users to keep your sounds close to each other programed-wise to counter this, and recommed to Eventide to maybe make some 'live' presets that help fight this. Unless they already have and I haven't found it.

Besides all of this, a top end product. If you are unafraid of long sitting sessions and like to blaze new sound trails, this is it.

Sound quality is perfect. You could almost say spiritual.

It sounds like the last reviewer wasn't patient enough or intelligent enough to figure out how to use this unit properly. Note his rating of 3 on sound quality: he didn't have one bad thing to say about any sound - his gripe is only with the difficulty of operation. How can i take a review seriously when a person is willing to let their frustration with one aspect of a product color their opinion regarding another? This person is obviously too bitter (about what i don't know since he got his money back) to admit that this unit sounds superior but is very complicated to operate - which is what most other users said about the unit. Can any person who has used this unit honestly say the sound quality is anything short of 9 at the least? I really don't appreciate people posting unintelligent opinions. The last reviewers philosophy is: "Its hard to use so it sucks and i don't like it!" - it sounds like the opinion of an impatient child. To me, it wouldn't make sense for the best sounding effects in the world to be easily achieved after five minutes of use. Anybody who would rate the sound of this unit at a 3 should not be listened to - he basically said his rocktron preamp sounded better - thats all i need to hear to know a person does not know what they are talking about. You don't have to be an engineer to operate this machine - its a computer program - you can get the basics at first and it will take a while to get the sophistication of it all after a while. This is not designed for on-the-fly changes in between songs on stage - this is so you can dial up every tone and effect you need, store it, and then recall it instantly when you need it. Sound quality is a perfect 10 all the way . . . does anyone disagree?

1. Getting good sound out of it depends on what you want and how much time you want to spend to get it set up. It will take a while. The factory presets are numerous, but in my opinion there aren't really that many that are truly useful. Some of them are downright annoying.

2. Sort of interesting to try and program it. While there are many things that can be changed, the layout is not terribly intuitive and that makes it difficult to get what you want out of it. There seems to be a plethora of settings that can be changed. That is why I got this unit in the first place. It will take time and effort to get this working correctly for sure. How much time and money do you want to spend? It will take a lot of both to get this unit to work correctly.

3. The manual is woefully inadequate. Mainly because it has so many errors. There are enough problems here alone to make you reconsider your purchase. I guess the positive side is that at least they sort of put something together. It is an encyclopedia, it is however, as noted, inadequate and incorrect. The online version is just as bad if not identical to the printed version. F- here.

4. Firmware is 3.1 and I have been looking at 3.5b also via the updates. 3.5b, as you can no doubt surmise, is a BETA release. It is a LOT faster than the 3.1 as far as switching the presets you are using. There is still silence when switching programs. Enough to make this unusable in a live setting.

5. There is no means of editing the setup directly via a computer. In other words, Eventide did not deem it prudent to create any sort of usable interface software that

The ONLY reason this gets a 2 as opposed to a 1 is that you don't have to code in binary. There are a lot better answers out there.

I'm going to see if I can send this back to the place of purchase or sell it. Not worth the time and effort or dealing with the rude people in New Jersey to get it right. There are other units out there that are much more intuitive and have enough power to do what pretty much everybody needs, and they are not nearly as expensive as this unit which is WAY overpricedther.

1. I guess you can get the sound of your favorite artist providing that you want to spend days figuring it out. The presets are essentially useless in this area. Go for your own sound. As I have noted above there is a substantial delay when switching effects that would render this unit completely useless for live performances.

2. The company and some of the reviews rave about the sound of this unit. The chorus sounds really good. Most of the sound programming sounds good. Just how usable it is would be for you to decide. Once again the very nasty delay problem comes up.

3. Equipment: Marshall JCM2000 100W and JCM800 100w heads with a Marshall JCM800 1960 4x12 angled top and a Marshall 1960 4x12 bottom.
Fender Strat Highway one, modified with some deluxe stuff. Gibson SG 3 pickup. Stock. Ernie Ball volume and pan pedal and a BudWah pedal.

4. Noise. Well. Yes. Without regard to use through the effects loop or plunging it straight in. Same thing. It's no horrible hiss but it is there. The Rocktron that a buddy of mine has is quieter.

5. The effects are what they are. They sound as you dial them in to sound. Prepare yourself to spend some time. One thing that is noticeable is the volume difference between bypass and effects. The bypass has noticeably more volume.

6. Other equipment described above.

I guess it's pretty hard to break. At least that's what the company tells me.

I have had it lock up several times. This was likely due to corrupt programs. However, a lock up requires a reboot. That means you shut it off. Not a good scenario in my most humble opinion.

I would not dream of taking this unit to a gig. In a studio it may be fine, but outside of that, forget it.

This is one of my pet peeves. If I spend a couple of grand on an effects unit that is supposed to be the best, then I damn well expect the company to respond politely and promptly when I have a problem. Particularly when the manual is incorrect in the first place.

The result to my query was that their response was very slow, they didn't have answers, they don't like it when you point out something that they tell you is incorrect, they are rude, it seems to be their goal to show you they know much more than you do (which would hopefully be the case relating to their unit) and did I mention that they were rude and incorrect in a substantial amount of their answers. The really did have a substantial number of incorrect answers, they don't even agree with their own manual. That's pretty bad, and they are rude and arrogant in case I didn't mention that.

Amazing is a good way to put it.

1. Music: Zappa, ZZTop, Dream Theater, Ten Years After, Robert Cray, BB King, AC/DC, Clapton, Cream, Pink Floyd, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, orignial stuff. That covers a pretty large area.

2. Been playing for at least 20 years as should be evident from the list above. Gear listed above. Some other stuff like Pignose and Fender amps and some various items that I really don't use anymore.

3. If it was stolen I would report it to the insurance company and get something else.

4. What do I love about it? Sending it back for a refund.
What do I hate? Nothing really, it's just not adequate for anything outside of a studio where you can edit over and over and over and over.
What is my favorite feature? The purchase recite that allow me to take it back.

5. Looked at several items, I was sucked in by the marketing and reviews that are pipe dreams in my opinion. It was chosen because of the perceived power and usability. Not a true evaluation by the reviewers in my opinion.
I wonder how much the magazines were paid to give good reviews. Maybe I should try to get that gig.

6. What do I wish it had?
a. A company that cared about its customers supporting it would be a good place to start.
b. A usable, correct, manual.
c. A web site that had real correct usable information.
d. A forum that would allow real information instead of some Hitler moderator squelching what he deems to be damaging to their products.
e. As it stands, they are either understaffed or really don't care once they get your dollars.

8. The way it stands it gets in the way. If you are in a studio I can see it being useful, past that forget it.

9. I would like to add that the current state of affairs with corporate America are why people like this get away with poor customer service, horrible tech support, and incredibly high prices for moderate quality equipment. We have shipped so many jobs and so much intelligence overseas at this point that it is difficult to find a corporate entity that is capable of doing anything themselves. Pretty sad state of affairs.

its easy to get a good tone out of but getting the levels set is not do-able ... it seems to me that the more you add effect the lees you have of the original signal such that the total output stays the same ... what I wanted was for my original signal to stay the same and for effected signal to be added in thus making more signal so that when I switch effect in the guitar doesnt get quieter ... Ive had this thing for a year and still cant build my own preset ... I have followed the instructions on how to steal an alogrithm from another preset and time and time again nothing happens ... I wanted to use this thing for delay and whammy and I love the backwards delay but cant figure out how to make a whammy where all of the sound gets pitch shifted ... now Ive noticed that the compressor in this thing is very nice, so much so that I dont want to use the other ones I had before, but the trouble is that I want the compressor and the harmonizer in front of my amp and the delay thru the effects loop, so that makes 3 things but you can only have 2 alogrithms per channel ... I might just get a tc 2290 for in the loop and just use this thing in front of the amp ... but I still cant figure how to get the compressor and the harmonizer to be on the same preset with each other and the delay ... Ive never had trouble programming my toys before until this thing ! cant get the levels right and it sucks about that !

sound quality is what i got it for I was using a maestro echoplex and then to a lexicon mpx1 an art compressor and an RNC compressor all of which were nice but no longer needed once I got this thing Im a soloist and an audiophile I use I use an old boogie and old marshall and sometimes a soldano and a bogner I like the gold pin telefunken 803Sax7 and the geNOS ax7wa as well as the RCA7025 and KT66's and el34's and I like my tubes blue ... I can hear how many volts are in a battery and I can tell you this thing is quite nice although I havent compared it to the tc2290

no trouble yet

they told me to quit calling and emailing them and said to go read the manual ... I have emailed them asking if there is anyone in the houston area who could help me program this thing but they have not returned my emails ... I bought this thing on ebay and a month later I notice that it has no serial number plate on it and so now I cant register it and am not eligible for customer support even though I bought it fair and square and have a reciept

I am 39 and have played guitar since age 4 ... I use a boogie .50 cal and a marshall 2210 with axiom transformers all rebuilt and or modded by the guys at Allens in houston as well as and a soldano slo100 for rythm ... vintage 30's ... 80 watt rola celestions ... drawmer gate ... bradshaw loop switcher and I build my own sustain ... DONT EVER send your amp to mesa boogie for any reason they screwed my amp up made it sound like half the knobe were at 25 and half wouldnt go past 3 stole my brand new american made tubes and then denied that they ever did any buisness with me even though I had all my transaction numbers and told me to screw off and go away

After reading a lot of reviews before buying this machine, I expected the worst, but I was positively surprised. You do need to read the manual to get started but the feel how this thing works came quickly to me. If you know a bit about effects parameters, it is not difficult to operate the Eclipse; I'd even call it intuitive and flexible because it collaborates with you and always allows you to do things in different ways. It's a complex machine though, but the time I spend with it is always enjoyable and efficient.

I use it in a guitar rig and for studio jobs. I work as a composer and guitarist, in different styles from classical music to film scores, electronic madness and death metal.

My rig is a Mesa Boogie triple rectifier with an Axess CFX-4 MIDI switcher, a Nord micro modular (which I abuse as an fx machine) and a Behringer V-amp (for emergencies). I control everything with a Sound Sculpture Switchblade 8B and a Rocktron All Access pedal with 2 expression pedals. Occasionally I connect everything to a ProTools system, too.
My main guitar is a BC Rich USA custom 7-string warlock with EMGs and a sustainiac pickup, but I also use the Eclipse on fretless and acoustic guitars, vocals and other instruments.

The sound quality is of course fantastic, be it for the famous Eventide delays, verbs and harmonizers or for EQs, wahs and noise gates. Gentle colouring / delays / chorus as well as outer space walls of sound and hugely complex live electronics for several instruments simultaneously all work beyond criticism. You can get quite far in copying sounds you like, but it's when you get creative yourself that the Eclipse unfolds its true power. Yes, you can only load two algorithms at a time, but most of them include several effects that can be controlled independently and tweaked out of this world.
What I find also hugely satisfying is the fact that, for the first time, I have an fx device that goes further than I need to, instead of my hitting the roof of its possibilities after five minutes and having to settle for the preset sound some distant engineer thought I would need.
The possibility to control any number of parameters with pedals, instrument dynamics and/or an internal oscillator greatly adds to the range of possibilties. Contrary to other guitar fx, this device actually allows me to create NEW sounds instead of giving me a pathetic choice between 5 sounds that have been around since I went to kindergarden.

(Note: You should always use the eclipse with balanced cables! The addition of the Switchblade to my rig made the Eclipse the only processor I really need, since it allows me to reconfigure my rack in realtime in spectacular ways (pre/ post/ channel separation / sweeping between settings / clean and distorted at the same time...) without losing the pure guitar, fx and amp tones.)

But even if you only want to work with the presets, you'd have a hard time NOT getting good sound out of this thing. The levels of some presets are kinda crazy though, so be careful with the volume when looking for algorithms.

Of course, even the best thing can always be improved - I miss for example an algo that combines parametric equalization and a noise gate - but for what this machine costs I am more than happy with what it does.

So far, so good.... I've had it for 6 months, no complaints, freeze-ups are infrequent and only during preset editing.
Rebooting usually solves the problem.
Yes, I use it without backup - if I could afford another one, I'd be using a bigger Eventide anyway. (Get real...)

Didn't have to contact the company so far. What I didn't find in the quite extensive manual, I found in the help group on yahoo. Italo de Angelis provides the best support I've ever seen, answering every question patiently and immediately, no matter if it's a genius or an idiot who asks it. Also other users of this community are helpful and approachable. A+++++

I'm a full-time professional, doing exclusively my own music. I've been playing for 20 years and learned a thing ot two about sound processing.

This is a piece of pro equipment which adapts to YOUR needs instead of vice versa. It gives me enough possibilities for all the different things I need from my equipment, and it helps me make better music in the sense that it allows me to make the music I want to make without compromise, and without annoying me with its own shortcomings and malfunctions all the time. Somebody used their brain making this thing, and they expect you to do the same.

I'd definitly get another one if it disappeared.

Once again: the Switchblade is a perfect complement for this machine, especially in a guitar rack.

This is my first, but certainly not my last Eventide.

Muy complicado todos los ajustes, los niveles entre preset y preset cambian drasticamente. No es la mejor opcion para directo. La actualizacion a la version 3.0 es muy compleja, con riesgo de perder la EPROM del equipo y tener que mandarlo a reprogramar. Las tarjetas Compact Flash que soporta estan obsoletas y ya no se encuentran. Antes de actualizarlo a la version 3.0 es necesario actualizar el sistema operativo y es necesaria una CompactFlash, este proceso es muy delicado y con riesgo de perdida de software y de quedar inutilizado el aparato.

Simplemente fantastico.
La unica pega es que no se pueden combinar muchos efectos a la vez (delay, chorus, distorsion, etc.)

Simplemente.... me decepciono, no el aparato en si, el soporte del distribuidor en Espa?a y desde luego la facilidad de uso, la cual brilla por su ausencia.

Malisimo.... En Espa?a su distribuidor no conoce en absoluto este producto, tuve que comprarlo sin poder probarlo, estube 10 dias intentando actualizarlo a la version 3.0 y Lexon, el distribuidor en Espa?a, no sabia como actualizarlo. A parte solo tenian dos unidades en toda Espa?a, la que tenian en Madrid fue la que me enviaron, estaba ara?ada por que la habian tenido en exposicion. Fue imposible actualizarlo y se lo devolvi a Lexon, para mas colmo Lexon no tenia ni idea de actualizarlo. Logicamente no me parecio correcto recibir este trato y este soporte tan malo por un aparato que cuesta 2450 euros por muy buena armonizacion y efectos reales que tenga.
He vuelto a los pedales analogicos y me he olvidado de efectos digitales gracias a Lexon.

Toco rock, heavy, etc.
Cuando compre el Eventide Eclipse me quede como unico guitarrista de mi grupo, buscaba algo para rellenar el sonido en los solos.
Pense en el Eclipse pero despues de esta desagradable experiencia se lo devolvi al distribuidor y no quiero saber nada mas de efectos digitales.

Bastante complicado para usar en directo, por defecto viene con una version muy antigua de software, tiene mucho retardo en los presets, es totalmente inviable su uso en directo tal y como lo suministra Eventide.
Hay que actualizarlo, soporta muy pocas tarjetas CompactFlash, el fabricante asegura que se puede actualizar con un cable serie desde un PC, pero asi solo se puede actualizar hasta la version 2.0 y ofrece el mismo retardo.
Para actualizar a la version 3.0 que se supone que tiene menos retardo es necesario actualizar la ROM y solo se puede hacer con una tarjeta CompactFlash que vende Eventide y que cuesta 100 USD mas, ademas advierte Eventide que si se interrumpe el proceso de actualizacion de la ROM por cualquier causa hay que enviar el aparato a fabrica para reprogramarlo, increible!!!!
Es vergonzoso que no venga ya actualizado a la version 3.0.

Excelente calidad de sonido, los chorus son muy naturales, los delays son totalmente cristalinos, parece como si hubiese dos, tres o hasta cuatro guitarras. La armonizacion es algo limitada y muchas veces no es posible utilizar varios efectos a la vez, pero los que se utilizan ofrecen muy buena calidad de sonido.

No me inspiro mucho fiabilidad, lo tuve diez dias y puede experimentar mucho con el, no me ofrecio mucha confianza. Los presents tienen niveles muy distintos, hay presets que suenan bajisimo y otros saturan el amplificador... Es un aparato extremadamente complejo, demasiado para usar en directo. Hay opciones mas sencillas y de mejor calidad. Tambien esta algo limitado el uso de varios efectos de forma simultanea.

Muy mal soporte. Lo compre en Espa?a, tuve que visitar muchas tiendas y hacer muchas llamadas al distribuidor en Espa?a, el distribuidor es Lexon Espa?a y no me permitio probar antes el aparato. Tuve que comprarlo en una tienda sin poder probarlo y me envio tan solo una unidad que tenia en toda Espa?a, no habia mas Eventide Eclipse y ademas esta unidad la tenian en exposicion, venia desembalada y con ara?azos en la carcasa debido a que habia estado alojada en un rack, no entiendo por que no me dejaron probalo antes si tenian esta unidad en exposicion. Les solicite ayuda para actualizar a la version 3.0 por que el retardo es demasiado y Lexon no se intereso demasiado por facilitarme una solucion. Les envie a Lexon el Eclipse pues yo no podia actualizarlo, las tarjetas CompactFlash que soporta estan descatalogadas, son de una capacidad muy baja y ya no se encuentran, todas las que probe no las leia la unidad. Lexon me llamo para pedirme el software de actualizacion, este motivo hizo que devolviese definitivamente el Eclipse pues me demostraron que no conocen el producto, este software no viene con el producto, ni se descarga con un plug-in como me aseguraba Lexon, este software esta en las paginas web de Eventide y es descargable publicamente. El servicio de Lexon fue vergonzoso y totalmente inapropiado para un cliente que compra un aparato de 2300 euros, definitivamente les devolvi el Eclipse y nunca comprare nada que distribuya Lexon, ni nada de la marca Eventide.
Fue una muy mala experiencia.

Yo toco metal neoclasico y buscaba un buen armonizador que me diese algunos efectos mas como chorus y delays. La calidad del Eclipse es buena, pero el servicio y la distribucion es Espa?a no lo es. Devolvi el Eclipse a los 10 dias de la compra pues a parte de ser muy complicado de usar en directo, los niveles de salida no vienen muy bien ajustados, habria que actualizarlo a version 3.0 si se quiere mayor rapidez en la carga de presets y esto es un proceso complicado tal y como viene de fabrica y con riesgo de perder la programacion de la ROM y quedar inutilizado el aparato.
Son demasiadas contras para lo caro que es este aparato, a parte el distribuidor en Espa?a no facilita nada.... Habia decidio buscar la alternativa en otra marca mas seria, como por ejemplo TC Electronics, el modelo G-Force es la competencia del Eclipse, pero como este aparato tambien hay que comprarlo en Espa?a sin poder probarlo he decidio usar pedales analogicos y invertir el dinero que me he ahorrado en una nueva guitarra.
No recomiendo para nada el Eventide Eclipse.

The display is way too small (or rather not enough resolution) for the complexity of this unit. four softkeys below the display, hardkeys for program selection, "hot keys", editing, setup, bypass and levels (don't understand why they put in a separate levels key and didn't include this into the setup pages. I'm not all the time changing my level setup). large dial and decimal keyboard (the latter one being a BIG PLUS!). flashing tap tempo key.

Two connectors for pedals (nice). The expression pedals of mine cannot be properly set up (i.e. when using "absolute" values, they only go from 0% to 99%. Workaround: use "uniploar" setting and scale it to 102%). All connectors 1/4'', XLR, digital SPDIF, AES/EBU, Toslink. The hard bypass only affects the XLRs (why?).

The basic system structure of the Eclipse is as follows. You can (normally) load two algorithms (out of a pool of ~200 sometimes very complex algorithms). You can run them in series, in parallel (inputs split, output summed vs. driven by left/right, outputs summed or routed to l/r). No possibility to feedback from the second in the chain to the first one.
Lots of realtime modifiers. envelope follower, ADSR envelopes, MIDI controllers, LFOs. Most delays and all LFOs can be synced to the system clock (syncable to MIDI and can be tapped via foot/MIDI controller). Unfortunately, in this setting the maximum LFO period is "whole note". Also, reverse delays (like the 20 second reverse delay) open at the first "tap" and close at the second, so when you have it set to "8 bars", it will still only be one bar long (big flaw!)

I got the unit with software 2.5, have since then upgraded to 3.0. The newer software allows for user defined scales and using the device as a MIDI clock source (both important issues).
However, since upgrading to 3.0, the unit sometimes locks up when trying to edit patches (my original patches only so far). Powerdown/up again works around the problem.

Re: "hot keys". parameters of your choice can be patched to the "hot keys" page, where you can access them with the soft keys under the display and then modify with the dial or the decimal keyboard. Fine.

There could be a discussion whether you rather like a few really complex algorithms running (like here), or have a lot of small algorithms (like i.e. in a Nord Modular). Basically, here the problem is, this limits your flexibility. Want different delays affecting low and high frequencies? Simply chain a crossover and a dual delay. Want different delays affecting low, mid and high frequencies (like in Electrix's ModFX)? Not possible.

There is this mischievous sentence in the manual that "some algorithms cannot be loaded together". They don't mention which ones. It's just trial and error. BIG MINUS!

There is no way to properly trace distortion happening "inside" the unit (i.e. by overloading a loop etc.). There is an overload indicator which only indicated overloads of the input A/Ds. Apart from that, you have to start searching, which is really not easy. Take a hint from Kurzweil, guys!

As mentioned before here, this should be changed into "sound quantity". Lots of the presets (and of the algorithms) are great for creating huge washes of sound from a few played notes...which some people (solo artists like me) might like, and others might not like (i.e. if your co-musicians start complaining because the keys and the singer can't be heard two measures after you play a single note).

The pitch shifter is - well, Eventide. I cannot say that there is an algorithm which I do not like. This is also true for the various preamp models, which basically helped me to return my PodXT live to the store. The toughest thing here is to understand which one of the countless algorithms will give you the desired effect (don't think Keneally uses an Eclipse :). There are of course simple algorithms (like simple delays, choruses, reverbs ect.), which all sound (I'd say) more than sufficient for any use on instruments - don't know what the engineering pros would think about the reverbs used for a mixdown's main reverb.

when my unit came, it produced lots of hiss on the analogue outputs (independent of any signal). I got in contact with the dealer, he told me to send it in, then the hiss vanished...looks quite solid, haven't taken it to the ironman or to a punk festival yet.

only dealt with them briefly, yet this happened to my complete satisfaction.

A great devices, with some weaknesses in its general design and some small avoidable flaws. For me, still an excellent device, and it has quickly found a central position in my sonic adventures. (playing solo loop-based stuff in a setup w/ Roland V-Bass, sax/trombone/vocal noises, Waldorf Q, Korg Wavestation KEX, Roland MC505, Korg Kaoss II, Nord MicroModular, Line6 DL4, Electrix Repeater, TC FireworX/D2/TripleC, Zoom 1201, Eclipse, Behringer FCB1010 and various pedals, all connected to a Behringer MX2642A).

The all-important question should be: what do I expect from an upper-middleclass effector like this? Basically, I think it is really perfect for any solo artist with a craving for effecting normal instruments in a completely otherwordly way, and for this, "this remains the best way I know of making a lot of noise with one guitar" (Robert Fripp). If you do other things (like play in a band, for example), you should try and compare before you buy.

Layout structure is logical but not user friendly, too many drill-downs to get where you want. Supposedly, some simple efx could be loaded w/o the confirmation.

It is quite but not extremely quite. The volume control should be within +- 3 DB range to avoid tweeter damages. Reverb + Flange sound great, distortion and wah needs more work.

Can't depend on it. Got problem with volume/efx drop-out (have to strum/pluck hard and maxout input gain to activate the efx).

Got an email from Anwar, have to pry to get more info from him, not very helpful :( I am sure I am not the first/only one who complain about the volume/efx drop-out problems, so the fixed/info should be readily available!

I play both bass (Status Stealth) and guitar (Parker Select Fly). Both of these gears go thru Focusrite Pre ISA 110 > JBL crossover > Crown K2 > JBL 18" and Klipsch Tweeter/horn. For funk bass, I was looking for the wah sound, while Santana sound for guitar, the Eclipse do an OK job. For reverb and ambience efx, Eclipse is top dog. But the drop out issues really ruin my experience, and I probably won't buy from Eventide again unless their QC and customer service improve...

This thing is so great, but understand its alot of tech in a 1 space unit! So the LCD screen is only so big! SO you have to jump around a bit which can get a little confusing!

This thing sounds like heaven, everything it does just sounds amazine, i use this though a guitar rack system! It sounds best when playing clean, as you can hear every little sound in the effects, which are supurb!

so far so good

I need a operating system upgrade, and Richard in there audio dept, was so fast and responsive to my needs, it was a breeze, to be honest I have never had such great service with any company of any type! Customer service at Eventide is the best i have ever seen! PERIOD!!!! I would give a 11 for this score!!!

I have to say the customer service i experienced along with the quility and sound of this product has made me a new lifetime, proud Eventide customer